The shopkeeper was very personable, led the two into the back office in the backyard, and handed Bai Ruozhu twenty-five silver coins, as well as an additional five broken silver.
Bai Ruozhu told Bai Zehao to carefully put away the twenty-five silver coins while she packed up the five broken silver pieces herself.
Bai Zehao was calm and steady, even though he felt overjoyed, he showed no sign of excitement, which made the shopkeeper unable to guess their background.
After leaving the welcoming guests, Bai Ruozhu worried that the amount of silver they had was too much and might be unsafe, so she said to Bai Zehao: "Brother, you go home first, I will find mother at the market, and take a donkey cart home."
Bai Zehao immediately understood Bai Ruozhu's intentions, but he was worried about leaving Bai Ruozhu alone, so he wanted her to go home first with the silver coins. Yet he felt that wasn't appropriate either. What if the shopkeeper from before was planning on stealing the silver, it would put his sister in danger, wouldn't it?
"How about I take you to mom's first, then I'll rush back?" Bai Zehao suggested with concern.
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly shook her head, "There are a lot of people in the market, you better leave first. I will be careful, after all, I'm all grown up, big brother, you must trust me."
Bai Zehao opened his mouth and finally decided to listen to Bai Ruozhu. If the silver attracted unwanted attention, then splitting up with Bai Ruozhu might make her safer. "Then go find mom quickly, if you can't find her in the market, just leave a message and go straight home. Don't stay outside too long." Bai Zehao instructed.
"Okay, I got it. You go home quickly, remember to take a donkey cart, don't try to save that little bit of money." Bai Ruozhu tried to force some small change into Bai Zehao's hands, but he pushed it back, "Mom has given me money, you just use it yourself."
Several years later, when the siblings often left home with hundreds of silver banknotes, they couldn't help laughing every time they remembered the tension over those twenty-five silver coins.
Bai Zehao quickly left, with Bai Ruozhu turning to head towards the market. However, instead of going directly to find her mother, she went to a pharmacy not far from the market.
Since she decided to make toothpaste, she planned to make her signature herbal toothpaste from her last life and needed to purchase some medicinal materials from the pharmacy. Of course, she planned to make a simple version first, using only some not too expensive medicinal materials. Otherwise, even if she could make it, probably nobody would be willing to pay for it.
At the pharmacy, she told the sales assistant a few of the medicinal ingredients she needed. The assistant found them all for her, but there were two herbs he had never heard of, so he asked Bai Ruozhu to wait while he consulted the shopkeeper in the back. Before the clerk could come back, a well-dressed young man walked in from outside. Bai Ruozhu thought he was also a customer coming to collect medicine, so she quickly made way for him, but the young man went straight to the back office.
Soon, a loud conversation spilled from the backyard. Bai Ruozhu didn't intend to eavesdrop on others, but the newcomer's voice was impossible to ignore.
"Shopkeeper Zhou, I don't care how you do it, but this month's sales must meet home's requirements, otherwise I'll have to face punishment again." The young man sounded a bit harsh, as if the punishment was severe.
"Third Master, I will certainly do my best." The shopkeeper promised.
This seemed to make the young man even angrier, "You said the same thing last month, but what use is all your effort? If it doesn't work out, we might as well hire a doctor to sit in the shop, that should be better than just selling herbs."
"Third Master, this is not possible at all, the Old Master once instructed that the shop should only sell medicinal materials and not offer medical treatments. In case the temporarily hired doctor lacks medical skills, it might ruin the reputation of our shop. " The shopkeeper protested vigorously.
From outside, Bai Ruozhu silently nodded her agreement. This shopkeeper was making sense. Treating people medically was not something to be done carelessly. It seemed the young master was still too young, a little too eager for quick results.
"Then what do you suggest?" The young man snapped angrily.
The assistant inside quickly diverted the subject and said: "Master, shopkeeper, there is a customer outside waiting to collect medicines, there are two medicines I'm not certain about, we need the shopkeeper's expertise."
Like receiving a pardon, the shopkeeper hastily told the young man, "Third Master, I have to attend to a customer first. I will be right back."
The shopkeeper came out and apologized to Bai Ruozhu with an embarrassed smile, "Madam, my apologies for having you wait this long."
"No worries, shopkeeper, just help me find the medicines." Bai Ruozhu replied with a courteous smile.
Unexpectedly, the young master also followed the shopkeeper out, obviously intending to hurry him along. Bai Ruozhu got a clear look at the young master's face, he was not much older than her, probably eighteen or nineteen, equivalent to a student in modern times. No wonder he was impatient.
The shopkeeper soon fetched the medicines for Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu carefully checked and confirmed they were the two herbs she needed, but among the herbs fetched by the salesman earlier, one was incorrect.
"Shopkeeper, this is not Verbena Officinalis," Bai Ruozhu pointed to one of the medicinal materials.
The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Madam, you wanted Verbena Officinalis? My sincere apologies. I will replace it immediately." He glared at his assistant, "Hurry up and sort out the mistake you made."
The assistant scratched his head. The customer was correct; Verbena Officinalis was needed. However, he seemed to have opened the drawer next to it by mistake.
The young master coldly remarked, "It's no wonder that the business in the shop isn't doing well when such small mistakes occur."
The shopkeeper looked embarrassed and respectfully said, "Young Master, you're right, I'll certainly be more cautious in the future."
The assistant also repeatedly apologized with his head down, but the young master waved him off, "Never mind, don't bother picking them out, just give the extra herbs to the customer for free, since she knows her herbs, it may come in handy."
The last sentence was addressed to Bai Ruozhu, who nodded and said without hesitation, "Thank you, young master."
The assistant's mistake was a rhododendron flower. The prices of the two were not much different. After all, currying customer favor is always a good thing.
"Young Master, having an extra herb may impact Madam's formula," the shopkeeper reasoned with concern.
The young master gave him a stern look and said, "I told you, you need to be flexible. Madame can identify medicinal materials herself and it seems the ones she asked for are not for a specific formula. Perhaps she can use the wrong herb for something else."
Bai Ruozhu couldn't help but glance again at the young master. Even though he seemed young, he was quite observant.
The assistant quickly replaced the Verbena Officinalis for Bai Ruozhu and delivered it to her.
The somewhat haughty young master then bowed respectfully to Bai Ruozhu and said, "Madam, our waiter was careless and caused you some inconvenience, therefore we will give you 20% off these medicines."
At his words, the shopkeeper immediately looked at the young master. The business in the shop was already falling short of expectations, so why was the young master so extravagant?